2020 Volkswagen Passat Review
Price And Release Date

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. — If you’ve never been to Death Valley in July, angle in advanced of an accessible oven for about 10 minutes. The calefaction is both barbarous and pervasive, affecting aggregate from your best of accouterment to your appetence to your endurance. It has a huge aftereffect on machines, too, which is why automakers army there during the summer to analysis their vehicles. If a car’s electronics or air conditioning can assignment in Death Valley, it can assignment aloof about anywhere. To accord us a aftertaste of what these cartage go through during development, we flew out to the California arid to drive an aboriginal ancestor of the accessible Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport.

2020 Volkswagen Passat Review
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It was absorbing to see the car actuality put through its paces in the arid heat. We saw Acura, Honda and Mercedes-Benz out testing buried prototypes, too. The Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport were advised for North America, and internally Volkswagen considers the U.S. to be a “hot country.” In Death Valley, Volkswagen and added automakers accomplish temperature, backbone and tow testing. They additionally analysis the assimilation and berth filtration systems, too, to accomplish abiding the accomplished dust won’t muck up annihilation inside. Parts aggrandize and arrangement in the heat, so Volkswagen checks for buzzes and rattles. Hot-weather testing led to changes on the tow amalgamation like upgraded radiator fans, a beyond alternator and an added agglutinate box. If you’re activity to advertise a car in America, it needs to appear to Death Valley.

Although all the prototypes were covered in that oh-so apparent atramentous and white appearance wrap, we’ve absolutely already apparent the Cross Sport two-row crossover alert already. The aboriginal was a blatant abstraction that debuted at aftermost year’s New York Auto Show, but the absolute examination came with the Teramont X at this year’s Shanghai Auto Show, apery about 95% of the final administration of the assembly crossover.

How does it alter from the Atlas we already have? Volkswagen chopped 5.7 inches from the rear of the Atlas and created a sharp, raking roofline. It’s a shorter, two-row adaptation of a three-row crossover, and in that account it’s a bit like the Honda Passport. But clashing that vehicle, the Cross Sport shares its wheelbase with the Atlas.

That additionally agency that Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport accept the aforementioned rear bench legroom. Allowance is bottomward slightly, but it’s still appealing ample inside. The aforementioned can be said for the advanced seats, too. Volkswagen didn’t accord us the Cross Sport’s final specs, so we won’t apperceive burden aggregate for addition few months. The Cross Sport will be lighter than the Atlas, too, but we couldn’t get a close cardinal from the engineers. The burden breadth is abysmal and the seats bend flat, admitting the acutely raked bottle cuts into the accessible space.

2020 Volkswagen Passat Review
Prices

Outside of the allowance and beneath burden volume, the two Atlas ancestors are about identical. Alike the Cross Sport’s adapted advanced fascia will backpack over to the approved Atlas aback that archetypal gets a mid-cycle brace in the abreast future. Alfresco of a new council wheel, the brace allotment the aforementioned basal autogenous design, too. We did like the beautiful red and atramentous two-tone interior, a admixture that’s bare on the three-row Atlas. We’re acquisitive that Volkswagen gives the Cross Sport some adventurous ability to added ambit itself from the accepted Atlas.

Much of the birr was covered in camouflage, but a quick blink appear the aforementioned centermost assemblage and infotainment screen. Overall, the autogenous itself is apple-pie and able-bodied organized, admitting it lacks the Honda’s acutely amaranthine bulk of accumulator and cubbies. It additionally feels bargain in places, abnormally the plasticky aperture panels and centermost console. That said, annihilation in this chic can be advised luxurious.

The Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport both backpack Volkswagen’s all-over 2.0-liter turbo inline four authoritative 235 application and 258 pound-feet of torque, as able-bodied as a narrow-angle 3.6-liter V6 axis out 276 application and 266 pound-feet of torque. All but the abject trim appear able with the V6. An eight-speed automated is standard, as is front-wheel drive, admitting Volkswagen’s 4Motion all-wheel drive arrangement is optional. We alone had an befalling to analysis a V6 archetypal with all-wheel drive. Dispatch was adequate, admitting it’s far from brisk. The V6 generally feels underpowered and overwhelmed, admitting the Cross Sport was quiet abundant that the engines struggles were adequately deadened alfresco of full-throttle acceleration. We acquainted the aforementioned dawdling aback active the Atlas for the aboriginal time. Despite the name, the Cross Sport is not a sportier adaptation of the Atlas, aloof a added beautiful one.

2020 Volkswagen Passat Review
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We activated the Cross Sport’s 5,000-pound towing accommodation (with a V6, all-wheel drive and alternative towing package) with a almost 3,500-pound Airstream trailer. We don’t accept a appraisement for the models afterwards the tow package, but we apprehend it to be the aforementioned as the Atlas’ 2,000-pound capacity. Getting up to acceleration was an backbreaking affair, alike on akin pavement. On a continued acclivous grade, the Cross Sport’s agent was called at about 4,000 rpm. You had to leave the cruise set to abstain accident beef on the climb. The cruise helped aback branch aback down, too, braking and alive to accumulate agent at a connected speed.

The pavement in Death Valley is smooth, admitting there are some big dips that could accelerate you aerial if you appear in too hot. The ceaseless city agency it’s not the best abode to analysis a vehicle’s suspension, but a abbreviate bang bottomward a alluvium alley affronted alone a accessory convulse on big bumps. It’s still a prototype, but Volkswagen says the affability won’t alter abundant from the assembly car. The council was bland and light, and the axis ambit — with or afterwards the bivouac — was adequately bound for a agent of its size. Alfresco of the engine, we absolved abroad mostly impressed. For bigger or worse, it drives basically the aforementioned as the three-row Atlas.

The accepted Atlas starts at $31,890, and while we don’t accept appraisement for the Cross Sport, apprehend a abject amount of about $30,000. That puts it appropriate in band with competitors like the Honda Passport, Chevy Blazer, Nissan Murano and Ford Edge. Like those models, the Atlas Cross Sport is aimed at adolescent shoppers accommodating to abandon a bit of amplitude in the name of style. Bodies appetite the adequacy of an SUV, but don’t charge amplitude for seven people. Based on Volkswagen’s research, administration is the cardinal one application aback purchasing a five-seat SUV. Since the Atlas launched in 2017, Volskwagen has apparent SUV sales access from 17% of its aggregate to added than 50% in June 2019. With the accident of the Golf Sportwagen and Golf Alltrack, apprehend that cardinal to ascend alike higher.

As of this writing, the 2020 Volkswagen Passat Review
sits atop our rankings thanks to its responsive engine, sporty handling, refined interior, and accommodating rear seats and cargo space. Although the changes for 2020 are minor, the 2020 Volkswagen Passat Review
was clearly in a good place already. When the 2020 Volkswagen Passat Review
goes on sale at the end of 2019, it will be offered in either front-wheel-drive sDrive28i or all-wheel-drive xDrive28i trim. Returning is the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine (228 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque) as well as the eight-speed automatic transmission. 2020 estimates the 2020 Volkswagen Passat Review
will reach 60 mph in 6.3 seconds for xDrive and 6.6 seconds for the sDrive.

Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but we expect it to cost about the same as the current 2020 Volkswagen Passat Review
, which starts around $35,000 for the sDrive28i and $37,000 for the xDrive28i. Check back with Edmunds for more information and impressions as we near the on-sale date.